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It will soon be legal to run a red light in Ohio-- but there's a catch

Posted: Jan 30 2017 10:30PM PST

Updated: Jan 30 2017 10:30PM PST

LOS ANGELES -

Don’t you just hate it when you sit at a red light waiting for it to go green, without another car in sight? Well, if you drive in Ohio, pretty soon you’ll legally be allowed to run that red light. Sort of.

A new state law that takes effect in March will make it legal to run red lights in Ohio-- but there’s a catch. Drivers must still come to a full stop when they come to an intersection with a traffic light that is red. After stopping completely, they can hit the gas-- but only if they believe the red light is malfunctioning, and only if the intersection is clear of other traffic.

Driving instructors are stressing that it is absolutely not a free pass to run red lights. Police are concerned, to say the least. An officer in Kettering, Ohio told WHIO, “This is about safety. We don’t want the driver to approach a red light, wait for a couple of seconds and determine that it is malfunctioning and then blow through a red light. You still have to proceed with caution.”